Great weakness, faint-like goneness, culminating in local paralysis (vocal organs, tongue, muscles of deglutition, eyelids, face, bladder and extremities).
Obstinate neuralgias, especially of psoric origin; pains of a cramping, drawing nature.
Sensation of SORE RAWNESS (scalp, throat, larynx and trachea, chest, rectum, anus, urethra and eruptions with burning).
Contractions of the ligaments (arthritis deformans).
Dry cough with pain in the hip and involuntary urination. Soreness and rawness in air passages, cannot raise the mucus, worse on expiration, better swallowing cold water.
Haemorrhoids sore and raw worse on walking. Constipation frequent, ineffectual desire for stool; passes better on standing.
Modalities: worse dry weather, walking (piles), better wet weather, swallowing cold water (cough).
This is a very unique remedy, proven by Hahnemann and classed among the anti-psorics. Its exact chemical composition is not known but it is supposed to be a kind of potash preparation. It has quite a long list of peculiar symptoms, which are, nevertheless, very reliable. In the first place it has GREAT WEAKNESS, such as characterizes the potash salts generally. It is with CAUSTICUM “FAINT-LIKE WEAKNESS OR SINKING OF STRENGTH, WITH TREMBLING.” In this it resembles GELS., and it has another symptom, in connection with its general weakness which resembles GELSEMIUM, viz. ” DROOPING OF THE LIDS.” SEPIA,CAUST., and GELS., is the trio having this peculiar symptom in a very marked degree. Now the weakness of CAUST., progresses until we have ” GRADUALLY APPEARING PARALYSIS;” indeed, pARALYSIS is common with CAUST., and attacks in a general way the right side (LACH., the left), but it also has local paralysis;as for instance, of the VOCAL ORGANS, MUSCLES OF DEGLUTITION, OF TONGUE, EYELIDS, FACE, BLADDER and EXTREMITIES. On the other hand, it has all grades of nervous twitchings, chorea convulsions and epileptic attacks, even progressive locomotor ataxia. I can only name these diseases here, but will notice further on the symptoms and conditions which appear in connection with them.
Neuralgic affections are also common with this remedy and are generally of an obstinate character. CAUST., has helped me out in such cases where other seemingly indicated remedies failed. One of our writers on Materia Medica Charles J.Hempel, sneered at the multiplicity of symptoms of this remedy, as found in the “CHRONIC DISEASES,” but the clinical test has proven it to be a remedy of great use and wide range. On the mind it exerts a very depressing influence in keeping with its general action on the nervous system. MELANCHOLY MOOD; SADNESS, hopelessness; is apt to look on the dark side of everything. This melancholy may come from care, grief or sorrow. It often comes from longlasting grief or sorrow, and should be remembered here alongside IGN., nAT-M., and PHOS-AC.
This is the preponderant mood of CAUST., but it may alternate with an anxious, irritable or hysterical mood. We have already spoken of the paralysis of the eyelids.The vision is often affected;there is an appearance of gauze before the eyes, or as if a fog or cloud were there. This is often the case in incipient cataract and CAUST., often remedies it.
Upon the ears there is roaring, tinkling, humming and all sorts of noises. It is one of our best remedies in deafness with these noises, reverberation of sounds, especially in the patient’s own voice, finds here a remedy. Then the ears (external) burn and are very red. SULPH., also has this symptom very prominently;and right here we may say that there are many resemblances between these two remedies, and they follow each other well, especially in chronic diseases.
Upon the face we have four prominent peculiar symptoms:
1st Yellowness of the face;sickly yellow (not jaundice).
2nd paralysis or a rheumatic or psoric origin.
3rd prosopalgia of the same origin.
4th stiffness of the jaws; could not open the mouth.
This latter symptom also seems to be rheumatic and is in keeping with the arthritis deformans, of which we will say more further
on.
Upon the tongue we have: 1st. Paralysis; or indistinct speech without complete paralysis (GELS.,) 2d. Tongue coated white on the sides, red in the middle, but not so sharply defined as in VERAT VIR.
The throat comes strongly under the influence of CAUST.
“Burning pain in throat, not worse by swallowing;pain is in both sides or seems to arise from chest.”
“Rawness and tickling in throat with dry cough and some expectoration after long coughing.”
This again is similar to SULPH., which has burning in the throat more on right side. I have found that if SULPH., did not relieve, CAUST., given after it, often would.
INTESTINAL CANAL.–Sensation of lime being burned in the stomach, with rising of air. Guernsey praised this symptom and considered this as reliable. I have not verified it. CAUST., is one of our best remedies in anal troubles, and has very peculiar symptoms. ” CONSTIPATION, fREQUENT BUT UNSUCCESSFUL DESIRE TO STOOL.” (NUX) “Frequent ineffectual desire to stool, with much pain and straining, WITH REDNESS OF FACE.” “The stool passes better when standing. Haemorrhoids impeding stool, swollen; itching, smarting; rawness; moist; stinging; burning; RAW and SORE, worse when WALKING, when thinking of them, from preaching or straining the voice.” All these symptoms have been verified over and again. There are other symptoms also in this region that are very valuable, but we are not writing a complete Materia Medica and will only say in addition that in all anal troubles we should let CAUST., rank among the first in our mind when we are hunting for the simillimum. We do not know in what part the peculiar and characteristic symptom which leads to the simillimum will appear, but must be on the alert to recognize it promptly.
CAUST., also has very marked action upon the urinary organs, as is shown by the following symptoms : “Itching of the orifice of urethra.” “Constant ineffectual desire to urinate, frequent evacuations of only a few drops, with spasms in the rectum and constipation.”
This is like NUX-V., and CANTH., and I once cured a chronic case of cystitis in a married woman. There was another symptom in the case that was prominent, and that was a sensation of SORENESS or RAWNESS. More will be said, when we come to write on SENSATIONS, of this last symptom. Again, “retention of urine, with frequent and urgent desire, occasionally a few drops dribble away.” ”
Involuntary passage of urine when COUGHING, sneezing, BLOWING THE NOSE; at night WHEN ASLEEP;when walking.” “He urinates so easily that he is not sensible of the stream, and scarcely believes in the dark that he is urinating at all, until he makes sure by sense of touch,” I do not know of any remedy in which this weakness of the neck of bladder is more prominent. CAUST., also affects the urine itself. “The urine is loaded with lithic acid and lithates (HUGHES), there are thick deposits or sediments of various colors from dark to light.” These are a few of the leading urinary symptoms and show its importance here.
RESPIRATORY ORGANS.– Hoarseness worse in the morn., with rawness and sudden loss of voice. Laryngeal muscles refuse to act;cannot speak a loud word. Chronic hoarseness remaining after acute laryngitis. Hoarseness with deep bass voice (like DROSERA).These are all very reliable symptoms, and no remedy removes them oftener than CAUST.,All this loss of voice may come from paresis of the vocal cords, or from catarrhal causes. Then following down the respiratory tract, we have great RAWNESS and irritation of the trachea, cough dry, hollow;with sore or raw sensation in a streak down along trachea. COUGH WITH PAIN IN HIP WITH INVOLUNTARY URINATION. Cough with sensation as if she cannot cough deep enough to start the mucus. Coughs worse on expiration(ACON).COUGH RELIEVED BY A SWALLOW OF COLD WATER. Cough with inability to raise the mucus, it must be swallowed; but the most characteristic symptom all through the cough and chest symptoms is the sensation of SORENESS and RAWNESS accompanying them. Some will express this as a sensation of BURNING, if so we must remember IODINE and SPONGIA. In influenza or what is now called LA GRIPPE is disputes for the first place with EUP-PER., and RHUS-T.,All three have a tired, sore, bruised sensation all over the body, and all have soreness in the chest when coughing, but if involuntary Micturition is present CAUST. wins. No Homoeopath can afford to be without an understanding of CAUST., upon the respiratory organs.
Now upon the back and extremities we have–stiffness and pain in neck and throat, muscles feel as if bound could scarce move the head. Painful stiffness of the back, and sacrum, especially on rising from a chair. Paralysis of either or both lower and upper extremities. Dull drawing pains in hand and arms. Drawing and tearing in thighs and legs, knees and feet, worse in open air and better in bed. Weakness and trembling of the limbs. Rheumatic and arthritic inflammations with contractions of the flexors and the stiffness of the joints. All these, and many more symptoms, show what a useful remedy this must be in its general action on back and extremities, but right here I wish to say that If I were to select the three remedies to the exclusion of all others for the treatment of chronic rheumatism and paralysis CAUST., rHUS-T., and SULPH., would be the three. These three remedies studied in their correspondence and relation to each other will more then repay to careful student and CAUST., holds well its own in the comparison. You will remember that I have before alluded to the resemblances of CAUST., and sulph., and may continue to do so further on. I wish here, although constitutionally opposed to making too much of complementaries and incompatibles, to state that there are no two remedies that are oftener indicated after each other, and work as well when so indicated, than these two. If Hahnemann had never given to the homoeopathic, school any remedy but CAUST., the world would still be to him under lasting obligations.
